Stanford stars remained in school for this game

Cardinal to face LSU for national title

Just days after being drafted in 1999, the Stanford teammates sat in Muth's apartment and talked about how they wanted to spend the next year.

They could have joined their major league organizations, playing rookie ball somewhere during the summer and maybe advancing to Class A by the spring. It would have been a different lifestyle, complete with little pay, even less attention and plenty of bus trips.

Or they could return to the Cardinal for one more season - and one more shot.

"It was an easy decision once we really looked at it," Gall said.

And one that might really pay off.

The Cardinal (50-15) will face the Louisiana State Tigers (51-17) in today's College World Series championship game at Rosenblatt Stadium.

"This is just what we always wanted," said Muth, who holds the CWS career record for home runs with six. "We've played in every big game except the big one, and now we're there.

"But we're not just happy to be here. I don't see any guy on our team overly excited. We expected to be here, so now let's just go for it."

The Tigers expected to be here too. They have won 12 games in a row, all in the postseason, and will play in their fifth title game since 1991. Stanford, making its third appearance in the championship game, won titles in 1987 and '88.

LSU won four championships in the 1990s, earning the distinction as the team of the decade. But the Tigers haven't won one since posting back-to-back titles in 1996 and '97.

"These are the money games," LSU first baseman Brad Hawpe said. "This is what puts the ring on your finger, and that's what we're playing for."

Again.

The Tigers were 23-7 at the CWS in the 1990s, including 4-0 in championship games and 13-2 in the past five years.

LSU is a slightly different team than it was during the '90s run. The Tigers - whose style was called "Gorilla ball" and who were nicknamed the "Baton Rouge Bombers" for all the homers - don't have quite the power throughout the lineup.

In 1997, they set the NCAA Division I record for homers in a season with 188. This year, with the NCAA-mandated, less-potent bats, they have 96 dingers.

"We'd get seven or eight hits, and a couple of them would be three-run home runs," second baseman Blair Barbier said. "That's how we won."

Rosenblatt still seems to suit the Tigers, though. They have scored 29 runs in three games and have hit nine home runs.

LSU used a three-run rally in the eighth inning Thursday night to eliminate Florida State.

Brad Cresse snapped a 0-for-9 hitless streak in the eighth inning, which could prove huge for the Tigers. Cresse, who hit .400 with 30 home runs and 104 RBIs this season, has been the team's catalyst.

"That was big for me," Cresse said. "It hasn't been a good tournament for me, but it's been a great one for my team."

And it still could get better. The Tigers will start Brain Tallet (15-3) against Stanford. Tallet, a tall, lanky left-hander, hasn't pitched since last Saturday's opener against Texas. He allowed five runs in 7 1/3 innings for the win, making him only the third pitcher in LSU history to win 15 games in a season.

Stanford will counter with either right-hander Jason Young (9-1) or right-hander Justin Wayne (15-3).

Both pitchers were taken in the early rounds of last week's amateur draft. Wayne went to the Montreal Expos with the fifth overall pick, and Young was taken 47th overall by the Colorado Rockies.

"Each of us has a different bag of goodies," Young said.

Whoever starts, the other one will be the first Cardinal out of the bullpen. Stanford also has a dominant closer with Jeff Bruksch, who is tied for the school record with 13 saves.

"You love it when they're on the mound," Muth said. "They put our team in the best situation to win every game."

Stanford's lineup helps too. Six of the Cardinal's starting nine are upperclassmen. But only because Muth and Gall returned for one more season.

"I feel good about our chances," Muth said. "In every game we've had where it's been lose this and your career is over, we've responded. Nothing changes here.

"The foul lines aren't turned any different, the mound's not any higher, the fences aren't any farther back, and they still have to throw the ball over 17 inches of the plate. And that's where our experience really should make a difference."